Walorski, Upton urge approval of controversial oil pipeline

SOUTH BEND - A bi-partisan group of lawmakers that includes U.S. Reps. Jackie Walorski, R-Jimtown, and Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, wrote to President Barack Obama this week advocating for swift approval of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The State Department delayed the permitting process for the pipeline in January 2012 because of environmental concerns related to its proposed route through the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills area of Nebraska, which sits atop a massive aquifer.

However, the governor of that state has since approved an alternate route that avoids that area.

"We respectfully request that your administration act expeditiously and approve the project as soon as possible," the letter states. "This is in our national interest given the clear and positive linkage to job creation, the economy and domestic energy security."

"We have the opportunity to create thousands of good-paying jobs for American workers, stimulating our economy and contributing to our nation's movement toward energy security," Walorski said in a statement.

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"I urge the president to heed our bipartisan recommendation to approve the pipeline and put people back to work."

U.S. Sens. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, and Dan Coats, R-Indiana, signed a similar letter to the president last week.

A project of the Canadian energy company TransCanada, the Keystone XL Pipeline is a proposed 1,179-mile oil pipeline stretching from the oils sands region in northeastern Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Neb.

Though the oil industry and many lawmakers support the project, environmental groups oppose it because of the potential for spills along the pipeline and because extracting petroleum from tar sands produces large amounts of greenhouse gases.